AusBonsai

This is another Hawthorn collected last Winter .Its actually a stump that rotted off then re-sprouted at the base and rootsCheers Alpineart

How many times did you get spiked doing that one?

I remember last time I was at Bright their were heaps of Hawthorns around the place, nice part of the country out that way, especially in Winter.

Hi Ozzy , no spikes mate the growth is young and supple as are the spikes .The N.E Vic is magic all year round . Cheers Alpine

Hi Alpineart.
Hope you dont mlnd but i might bug you for some information regarding Hawthorns.As they seem to be one of your specialtys [amongst many].
I collected a good stash this winter . Mostly older trees with mature bark,width about 70mm. They came from the southern highlands n.s.w. cold country.I live on the coast a lot warmer.
They have all kicked on extremelly well ,some of the new growth is 800mm long and 5mm thick. One even flowered . I know i should leave for a year but i am afraid things might get away on me , or maybe i am just to keen.What do you think.
Thanks John.

Hi boom64 , well i'm no expert mate but there are a couple things to consider , do they have roots ? If not they can take a couple of years to develop enough to support the tree .Leave plenty of foliage on at least 200mm long shoots to help with the roots , with 800mm shoots i would expect them to have a good root ball . A water tray or wet bed helps with moisture retention .

If they have good roots ? you can savage them back to the second leaf or side shoot all over {pinch and grow method}, again a water tray /wet bed will keep them powering on .Hawthorns can and do go into self preservation mode /dormant for up to 4-5 years , i have heard of 8 years and more if buried . One single shoot may appear with a set of leaves for an entire growth season .This is usually a sign that the roots aren't present to grow the tree on , so it will only sprout the small shoot however the trunk will slowly die back to this shoot while establishing some fine roots .If however it is constantly wet it will grow roots and in most cases keep the trunk alive .

In their first growing season after collecting if it buds up but doesn't sprout then submerge the entire tree under water for 1 week {drown the bugger}for a small trunk , 2 weeks for a large trunk , this replicates a flood and yes you can fool mother nature .Collected hawthorns can also grow in water for a couple of seasons without roots basically like a cut flower , then they produce roots the following season or die .

I have a trunk here that was collected like a cutting along with some rooted trunks about 10 years ago , the one in question remained dormant for 4 years budding up and no more , no roots present for the first 3 years then produced 1 single root 200mm long in its 4th season however it budded up and refused to burst . Watching the swamps here full of thorns' bursting i submerged the tree for 1 week then sat it in water it didn't respond , so i repeated the treatment and within 4 days it was full of shoots .

I have had numerous trunks bud up and go nowhere , drown them and they burst . Hawthorns dont like it dry and dont like warm/hot water , wetbeds/water trays need to be kept cool as do the pots .The clump above was collected with little or no roots and was planted into the styrene box with no holes {miniture swamp} Hope this helps .Cheers Alpine

Hi Alpineart.
Thanks for the detailed information.I will be checking them tomorrow and go from there.
Regards John.

No worries mate , post some pics i'd like o see them for sure .Cheers Alpineart

Hi Alpineart.
Took a few quick snaps of the Hawthorn.Checked the bottoms a few had fine roots comming threw.not a lot.
Number 3 the tall upright just did not pop up the top,but i guess that what makes bonsai intereting.
Hopefully they will turn out to be good stock.By the way what do you mean by a wet bed?
Thanks John.

Hi, Boom64 , very nice stock , No 1&2 are my pic .Pre training/styling would be possible as they certainly look health enough .A wet bed is used for keeping plants permanantly moist or in a humid enviroment . From pines to elms i use numerous setups .Very simple to make .

Make a frame out of 100 x 50 , scrap timber can be used, pine posts , even bricks placed on a flat surface .Make the beds a reasonable size to cater for plenty of containers and as level as possible .Lay heavy duty plastic doubled up into the frame and 3/4 fill with coarse sand 6- 8mm plus or 12-16mm scoria then fill with water to the top of the filling and place the boxes,pots in and there you go .When you water, the bath hold the water and very little is lost .I also use roof decking trays with the ends folded up , fill with sand and place training pines , elms , maples etc on these .Pines are place on top of the filling , elms and hawthorns are sunk into it . Slab planting are also placed onto the filling as the tend to dry out un-even Capillary action waters the plants sitting on top and you get roots growing out of the bottom of the pots making the roots work as wicks . .It doesn't matter if the water is not retained at the top of the filling the plants will only drink what they need .Humidity is also produced keeping them healthy . A water bath/tray doesn't have the medium as fillings however without fillings they tend to breed mosquitoes . Keep us updated on you progress . Cheers Alpineart

Greetings Alpineart,

Thanks for the information regarding waterbeds.Picked up a few kliplok sheets so will be getting to work.Will build a few frames to sink some hawthorn in.
One last question,I have kept a few trees in trays and power fed threw spring and summer.Still have some she oaks in trays. Would i be able to do the same in the wterbed. Do i feed the plants directly or can i feed via the waterbed.I am concerned about waterbed filling up with algae.
Thanks for all the help.
John.

Hi Boom64 , i feed the trees not the tray , as for algae it only seems to grow on the top if the water level is above the filling ,i seems to grow more when sand is used over scoria .Simple mix the sand over every now and again .Personally i dont get a build up of water as the trees/plants drink it quickly or it evaporates via wind and heat .When fed in the pot as normal the watering process flushes the fert's out so you will find the waste in less as it is and does remain in the tray .I have never over fertilized trees in the trays yet as with every watering the wet-bed contents are constantly delluted .I basically still power feed all my tree's the same whether in pots on benches or pots in trays .Cheers Alpineart